


that's the way it was (but that's history)

by violeteden



Category: IT (2017), IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends, Beverly Marsh Knows Everything, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Gay Richie Tozier, Lesbian Beverly Marsh, M/M, Richie Tozier is a Mess, a little bit of Bev/Bennie, ben is a girl in this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23372452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violeteden/pseuds/violeteden
Summary: Richie and Eddie, that's how it always was. It's how it should've been.The two had their differences, yes, but somehow they worked so well. Everything they did together never failed to turn out perfect.Their relationship was like gold, until it wasn't. It wasn't anything, not a simple spark, just a memory slowly fading away from their minds.orrichie falls right back into eddie’s life, shaking up his world and bringing old feelings back to light.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Kudos: 12





	that's the way it was (but that's history)

**Author's Note:**

> title is from the song like gold by vance joy!
> 
> here's the link to the [reddie playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/77vNF1oRAiAXPyXnvDVHKC?si=7YcUuEsmTQ6SsIaNvHFRfg) i made!!

**_Summer 2015_ **

_It was summer, Eddie and Richie had just graduated middle school._

_Richie and Eddie were closer than ever before, but, what nobody else knew was that it wasn’t only in a friend way._

_Richie and Eddie were ‘dating’. It wasn’t an official thing because they wanted it to be their own thing, they didn’t want anyone else to know. That's how they liked it._

_On a late July night, Richie and Eddie were laying down on Richie's bed. His parents were gone again for work, they would be gone the entire summer._

_“I love you, Eds Spagheds.” Richie had said while holding Eddie in his arms._

_Eddie looked up at Richie and pecked his cheek, “The love is requited.”_

_And that was it, it was perfect. When it was just the two of them, it would always be perfect. Like gold._

_But not for long._

_On a late night in August, exactly a month after, everything fell apart._

_“This can’t work!” Eddie screamed with tears brimming his eyes._

_“But it has!” Richie was full on crying, “We’ve made it work! We always have! You and I, we make all of it work somehow.”_

_Eddie sighed, a tear falling down his cheek, “Richie. I love you. You know that, and always know that. I will never stop loving you, Richie Tozier.”_

_Richie smiled, maybe they can make it work again._

_“But this can’t-“ Eddie paused, his hands on Richie's cheeks, but his eyes not meeting Richie's eyes._

_“This can’t work, Richie.” Another tear fell down both of their cheeks, “We can’t keep-“_

_Eddie sighed, he let the tears flow down his cheeks, “We can’t keep hiding. From our parents, from everything. We don’t know anything about us, are we- are we gay? Bisexual? Do we even like girls?”_

_Eddie paused, looking Richie in the eyes, but quickly looking away after seeing his tear-stained cheeks and red eyes._

_“We don’t know anything, Richie.”_

_Eddie took his hands off of Richie’s cheeks and held his hands._

_“I’m sorry, Richie.”_

_Eddie stood on his tip-toes and kissed Richie's nose._

_He left and didn’t look back._

_“I know that I love you.” Richie said to an empty house._

**_January_** _**2020**_

Richie flopped on his bed in his dorm room. Today was the first day of the second semester and Richie was tired already because he had to wake up early for his nine am class. 

"Tired already, Trashmouth?" Richie's roommate, Bev, said when she opened his door.

"You don't even know!" Richie dramatically draped his arm over his eyes.

Bev has been Richie's friend since high school. They became inseparable, they would hang out constantly, and they would tell the other _everything._ They even planned to go to the same college so they could stay close, and, of course, it worked.

Bev chuckled, "Don't be so dramatic, Rich. Don't you have another class at twelve?"

Richie groaned, he had forgotten about that.

"You forgot, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't! My smart brain forgets nothing! What time is it now?"

Bev shook her head and looked at her phone.

"It's eleven, so you better get moving, dickhead."

Richie groaned once again and dramatically pulled the covers over his eyes. 

"Get up, Rich. I brought you a Red Bull. The dorm is so quiet when I have no one to talk to, so get up."

Richie shot up. "Okay, I'm up, Beaver!"

Bev rolled her eyes and handed Richie his drink.

It was now eleven thirty. Richie was walking to his chemistry class. He felt more energized after drinking that Red Bull and laughing with Bev, so he was sure he wouldn't feel the urge to fall asleep in class like he did in his last one.

Richie arrived to class with one minute to spare. When he entered the room, it was set up with tables that were meant for two people. He sat down in the last available seat, next to a small brown-haired boy that looked slightly familiar.

"Welcome, class!" The professor greeted. "I'm your chemistry professor, Mr. Shaw! I hope you all are ready for this semester of chemistry! Everyone, you can start getting comfortable with the person sitting beside you, because that will be your lab partner for the rest of this semester in chemistry!"

Richie turned his head towards the boy sitting beside him, the boy did the same.

Richie couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen this boy before, he really couldn't put his finger on when, so he just tried to shake it off.

"I'm Richie, kinda obnoxious, but most get used to it."

It seemed like the boy next to him had something on his mind, too, but he shook Richie's hand before Richie could think about it any longer.

"Eddie. I'm just, uh, normal, I guess?"

_Eddie._

Richie had almost forgotten about him. Though, he could never _fully_ forget him, that boy was still engraved in his mind after years. He didn't really know why, it was just a young love kind of thing, so why was it still stuck in his mind?

Maybe that's why this boy next to him seemed so familiar. He did look a little like Eddie, but it's been years since Richie's seen his face, so he could've changed. This had to just be some other Eddie with brown hair, right? It would be way too much of a coincidence for it to be the Eddie he used to know, and, besides, he was in New York, at NYU, there are thousands of students here, so it would be stupid to think that the only Eddie in the world was the one he used to know.

"Sure you're not!" Richie replied, "You've gotta have something interesting inside of you!"

Eddie laughed and shook his head. "Okay. What do you want to know about me?"

"Oh, putting your fate in my hands, I see! Bad decision, but I'll go easy on you. You got any siblings?"

Eddie shook his head, "Nope, only child. Which is good, in a way. My mom's a manipulative asshole, so I'd feel bad if anyone else got trapped in that hellhole."

Richie couldn't help but think of the Eddie he once knew. It was selfish, he knew, since so many people had bad relationships with their parents, hell, even Richie himself did, so why was he thinking about Eddie?

"What about you? You got any any siblings?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah. I have a younger sister. She's in sixth grade right now."

"Aww, that's adorable."

Richie and Eddie conversed until class was over. The two had gotten along quite well and they learned a lot about the other.

"See you tomorrow, Ed!" Richie waved at Eddie.

"Yeah." Eddie waved back and smiled. "See you tomorrow!"

Richie walked away still pondering about the similarities between Eddie and _Eddie._

"Fuck, Bev! Am I going insane? Do you think this sounds insane?"

"Most of the things that come out of your mouth _are_ insane, Rich. How do you even know this is the Eddie you once knew? There's, like, a thousand Eddies in the world."

"Exactly!" Richie groaned into his pillow, "I don't really know if it really is him! I mean, sure, he has a manipulative mother, no siblings, and a dad who died when he was five years old, but that could be _anyone_ , right?"

Bev knew Richie wasn't trying to sound sarcastic, and that only made her realize how much of an idiot Richie Tozier really was.

Bev chuckled and shook her head. "That all sounds a little too much of coincidence for it to _not_ be the Eddie that you once knew. You kinda skipped over all of that information when you first started talking about this. I wouldn't have told you all the stuff I said before if you didn't."

"Wait, so you think it's really him?"

"It's gotta be. It seems way too coincidental to not be, right?"

Richie groaned once more and put his head in his hands. "I don't know! When I think about it, it does seem obvious that it is him, I can even see some of his features still lingering on that adorable ass face of his! Then, when I think about it again, I think it couldn't be him, what kind of fucking shit show does my life have to be for my kinda-sorta-young-love-ex-but-not-really to be at the same college that I am? We lived in fucking Derry, the most boring town ever! How could he be here, of all places, and somehow be my fucking lab partner? It seems like a fucking shit show!"

"Woah, Rich. Slow down." Bev put her hand on Richie's shoulder. "It's okay, babes. You don't have to get too worked up over this. What's bothering you about this, hon?"

Bev was the only person who could get Richie to open up since Eddie. She always had this soft voice and a nurturing touch that made Richie feel so comforted. The first time that Bev had done that to Richie, it reminded him of Eddie, and it still does.

"I loved him." Richie said. "I shouldn't still be hung up over this stupid relationship I had when I was fucking thirteen, but I am, and I have been for years! It was just... something about him, something about his soft touch, his comforting voice that always put me at peace, the way I felt safe and loved in his touch, how soft I felt around him. I've dated people after him, but they _never_ made me feel even remotely close to the way that he made me feel, and it's so fucked."

Bev softly rubbed her hand on Richie's shoulder, calming him down. 

"It seems like he meant a lot to you."

"He did." Richie sighed.

The words that Eddie told him the night he ended... whatever the two of them had, they play on repeat in Richie's head, like a broken record. It's so easy for people to just forget about that one person they dated when they were in middle school, but for Richie, it was so fucking hard to let go. Words replaying, the sound of Eddie's soft voice ringing through his head, it stayed with him. Richie had tried so hard to get rid of all of the memories that ran through his head on the daily. He tried dating other people, but he always found himself comparing them to Eddie, and it was never like the spark that he had with Eddie. Dating someone else other than Eddie didn't ever feel right for him, it always felt bland, colorless, and just not worth it, which was what fucked Richie up the most.

"I just- I don't know why I can't let it go. I don't know why I can't date someone without thinking of _him_. That's all I could do when I dated anyone else! 'Eddie could do this better' and 'Eddie made me feel this way, this person can't even get close to that feeling!'. Why? Why Eddie? Why is Eddie the only person I think of when I hear the word 'relationship'? Why is he the only definition of love in my head? Why can't I just fucking let him go?"

Richie didn't realize he was crying until he felt one of his tears drop onto his shirt. All he could ask was why? Why was talking about this making him so emotional? Why was all of the questions he had in his mind asking 'why'? God, he was so fucked up.

"Rich." Bev said. "I like to say I know you and that I know what's best for you. Listen to me when I tell you this, hon. You can't keep pushing all of this deep down inside of you, but you can't just go up to Eddie and confess that you've been in love with him for this long. I can tell that what you two had was this amazing love that you can't seem to find, so, you can try to get it back?"

"Y-You really think so?"

"Yes, but only if you don't go all 'Richie style' on it. You gotta play it slow if you don't want to scare him off, it has been years."

Richie gave Bev a hug. "Thank you, Bev. You're the bestest friend ever."

"Is it a bad time to say I have a girlfriend?"

"What?"

The two of them laughed and continued talking for hours.

It's been a little over a month since Eddie found out he was in a class with _Richie_. 

Eddie assumed Richie knew, too, since the pieces fit together way too well for him to not. It seemed like Richie was dropping subtle hints that he knew Eddie was the person he used to know, but Richie never seemed uncomfortable knowing that he was. It almost seemed like Richie was... flirting? It felt like how it did when they were younger, Richie would joke about him being cute and he would spit out his stupid nicknames that Eddie would never admit that he sort of liked. 

Now, did Eddie still like Richie? That was the question, it was a big question to ask him. Eddie had talked to Bennie, his roommate and best friend for years, about it. If you asked her, she would definitely say yes to that question. Eddie wouldn't necessarily say that Bennie was wrong, because she _wasn't_. Eddie's love for Richie never actually faded, Eddie meant it when he said he would _always_ love Richie Tozier.

When Eddie broke off whatever Richie and him had, he didn't want to. He was just confused, he was a thirteen year old boy who had never felt this feeling before, his mom was a manipulative piece of shit who always talked to him about girls and getting a girlfriend. When he felt this strong love toward Richie, who was definitely _not_ a girl, it confused the shit out of him. What scared him was his mom disowning him, or the bullies that constantly shouted _queer_ at him on the daily to be proven right. He didn't want his fears and his confusion to ruin what Richie and him had, so he decided that the best thing would be to let Richie go. He regretted it, of course, but he thought maybe it was for the best.

Eddie finally labelled himself as gay. He never came out to anyone in Derry except for Bennie, since she was gay, too. When he finally got out of that hellhole of a house he was in with his mother, he was finally happy to be out and proud. He wondered what Richie labelled himself as, or if he dated anyone after. He wondered if Richie even felt the same about him anymore.

The two of them had gotten pretty close since they first met in their chemistry class. They had learned a lot about each other, most of it they already knew, but they also learned a lot about their lives in high school. It was nice that they were comfortable with each other even with their past. 

_Today is the day._

It's been a little over a month since he was put in a class with _the_ Eddie Kaspbrak. It was finally time for Richie to ask him on a date.

He had gotten comfortable around Eddie, he likes to think Eddie got comfortable around him as well. He hoped that Eddie would say yes. He knew that Eddie had realized that Richie was the one that he used to know, and he hoped that wouldn't make things more awkward. It seemed like they were okay with their past, like the other wasn't going to walk away, because they both knew, but they were still comfortable.

Richie walked into chemistry class a little earlier that usual, hopefully he would be able to recollect himself before asking Eddie out. He hoped Eddie liked him back, because he really didn't want to imagine a life without him loving Eddie Kaspbrak. 

Eddie walked into class a little after Richie did. 

"What are you doing here so early?"

"It's not _that_ early, My Dear Eds! I only arrived a little before you did!"

"But it's early for _Richie Tozier_. Also, don't call me that."

Richie winked and shot a finger gun at Eddie, causing Eddie to roll his eyes, but smile softly.

_Just gotta do it, Rich. It's now or never._

"Hey, uh, Eds?"

Eddie looked at Richie and tilted his head.

_Come on, Rich! You dumbass just ask him!_

"Would you, uh," Richie paused to take a breath to hopefully calm his nerves. 

Eddie furrowed his eyebrows his confusion, _cute cute cute!_

"Will you go on a date with me?"

Eddie's eyebrows raised and his eyes went wide, he did not see that coming. 

"Uh," Eddie said.

Richie panicked, so he started rambling. "You don't- you don't have to say yes if you don't want to. I mean, if it makes you uncomfortable or anything, I won't take offence, I mean the choice is up to you and I really don't mean to put you in an uncomfortable or weird or strange position, that's not my intention at all, I don't like doing that. You know what? Let's just forget that I even asked that and we can restart the day right over I'll just get up and-"

"Rich." Eddie interrupted.

Richie stopped rambling and looked back up at Eddie.

"Yes. I'll go on a date with you."

"Wait. Really?"

"Yes, you dumbass!" Eddie shoved Richie softly.

"Oh, wow." Richie exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Even after-"

"Yes." Eddie interrupted once again. "I said yes, Richie. Shut up now before I change my mind."

"Okay, Okay! Shutting up now." Richie had a big, goofy smile plastered on his face.

"I've got a date with Eddie Spaghetti!" He sang under his breath, which made Eddie smile.

_**June 2020** _

It's summer of their freshman year of college. Richie and Eddie are inseparable, just like before. Everything is perfect again, Richie can finally call Eddie his boyfriend, and Eddie can finally call Richie his. It was all falling into place, like pieces of a puzzle.

Today, the two of them were going on a double date with Bev and her girlfriend, Bennie, who was actually Eddie's best friend, a _coincidence_ , he knows.

"Are you done yet, Rich?" Bev complained.

Richie walked out of his room. "Yep! What do ya think, Beaver?"

Bev nodded her head and smiled. "I think I'm happy that I don't have to hear you complaining about how Eddie isn't your boyfriend yet."

"No need for worry, my dear friend! I am doing just swell" Richie said in one of his terrible accents.

Bev rolled her eyes, "Come on! We should get going!"

"Okay, Okay! Lead the way, Molly Ringwald!"

The two of them arrived at the restaurant to Bennie and Eddie standing outside.

"There you are!" Bennie said, "Was beginning to think the two of us got stood up."

"Never!" Bev said and gave Bennie a hug.

Richie went up to Eddie and leaned down to give Eddie a kiss. 

"You look nice." Eddie said when they let go of the kiss. 

"So do you, Spaghetti Man."

"You've gotta stop with those stupid fucking nicknames, Rich." 

Richie winked. "You know you love it, Eddie baby."

"Gotta admit," Eddie said. "I do like that one."

"Hurry it up, gays! We're hungry here." Bennie said.

Eddie and Richie held hands and walked inside the restaurant.

_**July** **2020**_

Richie was laying on Eddie's chest in his dorm room. The two of them were watching some show Richie forgot the name of. Being honest, Richie wasn't paying attention at all. How could he? He's laying on his beautiful boyfriend's chest, he felt at peace.

"Eds?" Richie called out softly.

"Hmm?"

"I love you a lot."

Eddie smiled at that. "I love you, too, Rich. I always have, and I always will."

And that was it. This is how it always should be. Everything is perfect, _like gold_.

**Author's Note:**

> it was so much easier for me to write a fic like this and since school is cancelled for the next few months, i had a lot of time to write this so i'll think about writing some more reddie fics like this :)  
> i hope u all enjoyed!! <3


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